Yes We Can!The sun is out. The seas have parted. The basketball gods are shining upon us!

A lot of teams define success by the playoffs or 50 wins or some even a championship.

But in OKC’s case, steady improvement was a strong measure of success.

After starting their inaugural season 3-29, the Thunder went 20-30 to close the season, including 13-12 at home since New Year’s Eve. So while last season’s 23-59 doesn’t look all that excellent, all things considered, it wasn’t that bad.

With the core of that team back and with another year of experience under their back, things should just get better for the Thunder. The average age of the team is under 25 and the Thunder’s first eight average 23. The team is young, but extremely talented. Kevin Durant is obviously a superstar, but Russell Westbrook was surprisingly good in his rookie campaign and Jeff Green is a steady sidekick.

Instead of spending on veteran free agents, general manager Sam Presti stuck to his long-term plan, taking James Harden with OKC’s first pick and big man Byron Mullens later in the first round.

Etan Thomas and Kevin Ollie will provide the veteran leadership this team needs. Thabo Sefolosha is a lockdown defender in the Shane Battier mold who can guard three positions and defend the other team’s best player. Nenad Krstic is a solid 13 and seven big man and D.J. White is a quality power forward off the bench. Shaun Livingston and Nick Collison give the team steady efforts night in and night out. And there are even more parts like Kyle Weaver and Serge Ibaka who are solid but young pieces to the puzzle.

The team is basically assembled, and now it’s just a matter of player development and progression. If last season’s final 50 games say anything, this team is headed for another step up. Maybe it’s not the playoffs and maybe it’s not 50 wins and a championship, but this season will be a step in the right direction away from the suck that was 3-29. The Thunder may not win more than half their games, but with over half the roster unable to get an alcoholic beverage still, steady improvement and progression is the name of the game.

No You Won’tA rousing dissent from a rival blogger.

Turnovers are the present cost of potential. The Thunder turned it over more frequently (per possession) than all but one NBA team last year. They also made the lowest percentage of their field goals of any team in the league. James Harden should help with latter (perhaps to the detriment of Nick Collison and Russell Westbrook’s great offensive rebounding numbers) but he likely won’t with the former. Among guards drafted in the lottery only Stephon Curry and Tyreke Evans turned the ball over more often in college than Harden. – Bret LaGree / Hoopinion

(Photo by Larry W. Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

All-a-TwitterA 140-character insight into the soul of the team.

Nick Collison might be the most clever and witty player out there in the 140 character or less universe. He’s been dropping hilarious gems all summer, but this is a favorite: “I’m at the park with my lil girl. I am currently wearing my bluetooth earpiece. Have I reached D-Bag status? Actually don’t answer that.”

On the RecordSingle best quote concerning the team during the last 12 months.

“I want to stay in Oklahoma as long as possible. I do, that’s the honest truth. I love it there.” – Kevin Durant

The PlayDown a single point with 9.2 seconds to play in a must-win game. What’s the play?

Kevin Durant Kevin Durant Kevin Durant Kevin Durant Kevin Durant. But since I’ve got 140 more words here, the play is simple. Russell Westbrook isolates at the top of the key. He breaks down his defender and hopefully without turning the ball over, he draws the defense to him just a stitch. Kevin Durant runs the baseline and curls off a Nick Collison screen, catching a Westbrook pass in rhythm. Durant rises from his favorite spot on the floor (top of the key-ish) and knocks down a 20-footer.

The People’s ChoiceThe fan favorite the crowd will be chanting for to see some action.

Serge Ibaka truly is a man of mystery. He’s got outrageous athletic ability and unreal length (shown off in a dunk contest where he legitimately dunked from the free throw line). But in Summer League he showcased a nice spot up jumper and a semi-polished post game. He’s raw (only 19) and probably not ready to bang and rebound with the bigs of the West, but he’s extremely intriguing and Thunder fans will be calling his name all season long.

Sam Presti has maneuvered extremely well to set Oklahoma City up with an abundance of cap room. With Etan Thomas’ $7 million deal coming off the books, the Thunder has only $35M or so committed for 2010-11. It will be interesting to see where Presti thinks the team is at next summer and which pieces he thinks should be added for a serious run in 2010-11. But come July 1, Kevin Durant will be eligible for contract extension negotiations. He’s everything to this franchise and that extension is something Thunder fans will be thinking about the second the season ends next May (or June if you’re optimistic).

Durant takes the 6th most 16-23 footers in the league but on a FG% of 42% compared to league FG% of 40%. Among those who take 5+ of these a game his FG% is right at the median. He probably is better late in games though.

Krstic makes this list too in the shortest minutes of anybody, at 41% FG%.

Green fewer attempts but is still in the top 25% on attempts but at 32% FG%. Only 1 player who took more attempts shot worse and Green tied for 2nd with McGrady.Westbrook at 38% FG and Thabo at 27% last season.

The Thunder 4th highest in the league on 16-23 foot attempts and 2nd lowest of that FG%.

As someone said earlier 40% is pretty close to the after new year win percentage from last year. Maybe I am being too optimistic but I would like to see that number go up even if just a little, I think 38 wins would be the perfect number. Any chance we can get a win total contest going Royce? Maybe KD's ppg as a tie breaker...? Awesome prize (t-shirt) for the winner?

@Jax Raging Bile DuctI guess we are of differing opinions here. I'm specifically seeing KD as a star, and the rules really are different for stars. I've seen Lebron, Wade, and Kobe win games from the free throw line all the time. The team denies the layup, but seems to invariably be called for a foul. And when I see the refs swallow their whistle, it seems to have more to do with who is committing the foul than if a foul was or was not committed.

I don't think your strategy is a bad one, but I also don't think it's as easy as that. I don't have any stats to back this up, but in my mind, refs swallow their whistle that late in a game. You know a team isn't willing to be beat in the last seconds by a layup, so you know the D will be tough, the shot will be tough, and the contact will be tough with a slimmer than normal chance of a whistle. I think a pick and roll or drive and kick scenario to get a guy an open shot from 18 may be just as effective in that scenario (9.2 seconds left).

I just don't see refs putting guys on the free throw line to win it all unless the foul just can't be ignored, and most are ignored that late in the game.

I believe the Thunder should have kept Tre Kelley. He would have helped provide stability at the point gaurd position and when comfort set in possibly have some big scoring nights.I'm not speaking down on Livingston or Ollie, but after Westbrook takes the bench with his pure athleticism you're not left with much to control the floor. I know Livingston was on his way to superstardom but he will never get that back again and Ollie is 37.Other than that I think they should have a pretty decent season. That is unless things get out of hand in the beginning of the season again and looking at the schedule it very well could.

@Jax Raging Bile DuctAnd how many games did we lose by 5 or less? Free throws are free points for this team. I accept the premise that Durant can hit a 20 footer at a high rate, but deny the conclusion that it is more effective to shoot a 20 footer than get within 5 feet and draw contact.

@RoyceNo offense, but we had a huge problem last year settling for jumpers when there was no reason. And as for most game-winners being three pointers, that's probably because of one of two things. One, the game winner was a three pointer. Two, there wasn't time to get all the way to the basket. When I look at the best players in the game (Lebron, Wade, Kobe) I see guys who primarily drive and get fould (Lebron, Wade) and one guy who can hit any shot but still is more likely to try drawing a foul than take a 20 footer at the buzzer. I know I'm exaggerating a bit, but the final 60 seconds of a basketball game has been made nearly as long as an entire quarter with tons of fouls. Nobody just "let's them play" anymore.

For the first time EVER, I'm getting nervous about the Thunder game tomorrow. I say it is a must win against a team that is widely considered one of the worst teams in the league. After that we start a stretch of 5 very good teams (maybe not Detroit). All I'm saying is it could be a very lonnngg start to the season if they lose tomorrow. If they win, hopefully it will be a jump start to a better season. I'm just a little nervous, must win in my book.

@KeithI'm sorry you didn't like it. If I remember right, over 70 percent of game winners are jumpshots, not free throws or layups. You won't get calls in the lane most times under 10 seconds. And if you do in the lane, you'll get mugged and you're leaving the game in the hands of a referrees whistle. I'd rather not do that and put the ball in the hands of an excellent shooter is can be automatic on a jumper.

@BootsI've had it for a while now. A reader made it for me. It's pretty cool.

I want to be on board with all this, but that play really is dumb. If you are down one, you take the ball to the hole and either get a much easier close shot or fouled (most likely fouled given how NBA games are officiated). Both KD and Westbrook are good free throw shooters. How do you not run a play with a high percentage of leading to free throws? If you are down by two and going for the win, you set up a three point shooter. If you are down by two and just playing for overtime, you STILL take the ball to the hole. Not to mention, KD is "the next best thing." If people breathe on him too hard he will be shooting free throws in the future.

That said, I think this is a 35-40 win team. KD's superstardom will win us a couple games on it's own when he puts half a team in foul trouble and takes 18 free throws. Also, my biggest concern last year was PG play and offensive flow. I think Westbrook has made huge strides and our offense won't look so painful next year. Defense wins championships, but we aren't a championship team anyway. Defense will come with experience and coaching, and when it does we will have the pieces in place to compete with anybody. I can't fathom playoffs until we get a legitimate big man. The West is too good and big men are too important on both ends of the court.

If "The Play" is a 20 footer from anyone they don't have the right priorities.

“Nick can make jump shots,” said coach Scott Brooks.Same hard to let pass nonsense that PJ floated at the start of last season.

Thunder was 20-30 to close the season. True but the most favorable slicing. They were also 10-21 to close the season. Beginning with game 33 they were 10-9. I think it is appropriate to note that this about the time a college season peaks. The young guys still more on that seasonal "biological clock"? That will eventually have to change, extend.

Talked to a thunder rep. I told him what an atrocity Thunder up is.. and to my suprise.. HE sounded suprised... but said he would tell the marketing people... (also let him know everyone I have talked to didn't like it) *crosses fingers*

After the 3-29 start, they went 20-30, which is a win percentage of 40%. If they win only 34, that's still just about 40%. If they just maintain that percentage from the latter part of last season, I don't see how that's much improvement.

[…] So today, I started shuffling through some preseason prognostications for a look back on what was predicted for the Thunder and how that stands relative to where we are today. Considering that Oklahoma City isn’t just battling for the playoffs anymore, but playoff seeding, I felt like maybe this would remind us all what an amazing season this has been. I found them interesting, so I thought I’d share. Let’s start with this guy: […]